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The student protests of 2015 precipitated a renewed interest in the decolonisation of the university in South Africa, and by association the decolonisation of the university curriculum. The decolonisation of the curriculum is an important conversation, and long overdue, given that the Western model of academic organisation on which the South African university is based, remains largely unchallenged. In this article I add to the conversation by discussing what decolonisation entails, why the need for decolonisation, the importance of rethinking how curriculum is conceived, and outlining some possible ways of decolonising the university curriculum. The purpose is not to provide a set of answers but to open up ways of (re)thinking the university curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the term 'curriculum' has its origin in higher education it is a neglected term in discourses on higher education. In the field of Curriculum Studies it is the school rather than the university curriculum that is mainly studied. This may be due to the relative autonomy that higher education institutions (HEIs) enjoy and the academic freedom granted its members. The downside of institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the South African context is that the Africanisation/decolonisation of curricula has been left unaddressed by some universities. Twenty years into South Africa's democracy it is an opportune time to again ask the key curriculum question: What knowledge is of most worth? What knowledge is of most worth to South African university students located on the African continent and who form part of a global society? In this article, the author shall discuss the Africanisation of the university curriculum by drawing on insights from: the sociology of knowledge; indigenous knowledge; a different reading of the knowledge economy (different to the neoliberal reading). The author shall argue that Africanisation of the university curriculum is dependent on understanding the active force of the etymological root of the term currere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge production in the twenty-first century is changing rapidly as both universities and societies transform in a world that is increasingly interconnected in so many different ways. Challenges associated with these transformations include: globalisation; the compression of time and space; the ascendancy of neoliberalism; a pendulum swing from basic to applied research; the emergence of transdisciplinary research; the internationalisation of indigenous knowledges; and complex societal issues (e.g., environmental destruction, poverty, unemployment, disease). This special issue of the South African Journal of Higher Education (SAJHE) focuses on how knowledge production has occurred in transnational and local spaces in view of these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I point out that prominence given to higher education quality assurance by contemporary states might be viewed in the context of the ascendance of neoliberalism over the past few decades and a concomitant culture of performativity. However, I argue for a shift in the angle of vision on performativity and quality assurance through a poststructural reading of these constructs. My key argument is that all constructs/concepts are territories that have the potential to become deterritorialised and reterritorrialised, and that terms such as performativity and quality assurance should not be abandoned but rather viewed as carriers of new constellations of universes. In short, perfomativity and quality assurance should not be viewed simply as negative processes, but also as sites for creative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by K. Horsthemke on African university and another by K. J. Mammen on the job satisfaction of higher education teachers.

The theme of the 2005 biennial SAARDHE conference, 'The African University in the 21st Century' provokes a discussion of fundamentals, in a similar manner to JH Newman's grapple with 'the idea of the university' and more recently, the question proposed by the Association of Commonwealth Universities of whether universities should embrace 'engagement with the wider society' as a core value? In this article I wish to critically reflect on recent debates on 'the idea of engagement' and in which sense such debates have pertinence for 'the African University in the 21st century'. Specifically, I shall look at engagement through the lens of research and examine what spaces the discourse of engagement might offer for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in research processes. Since universities have traditionally specialised in knowledge production and manipulation it is fitting to focus on the role that the African University might play in knowledge production processes in the context of a global society that is fast becoming what is referred to as a 'knowledge society' and in the context of local communities amongst whom indigenous ways of knowing reside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]